Unique Collage Artist Showing at Local Gallery

Richly colored layers silk and cotton, paper and thread, textured with stitching and wax make up the exquisitely detailed, unique artwork of Colorado artist Grace Wever.

Fourteen of her works will soon be on display at the show at the in Historic Norcross, with an opening reception held tonight, Oct. 28, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and music is planned. 

Wever, a self-taught artist, specializes in both abstract and landscape pieces using her own method of fabric collage.

Wever began making art about nine years ago, after retiring from a career in science. “I always planned to retire as an artist,” she said. Wever laughed when she said she couldn’t draw as a kid--still can’t--but she always knew the art was somewhere in her. "Other artists look at my stitching and say, 'Well, you can draw, it's just in a different way.'" 

The first several years of discovering her process were the most intense. “I was consumed with the process of making art. Most likely this is because it was a time of miraculous discoveries and intensive leaning, which delighted me as a former scientist and technical person,” said Wever in her artist’s statement.

Now, she says, her process is more internal and strongly spiritual. “I really go into another zone. It is a fascinating process.” 

Wever’s work is spontaneous—she usually doesn’t know what a finished piece will look like when she digs into it, although the process is very disciplined and precise. 

“It is usually based on something inspirational,” said Wever, “poetry or verses.” The artist said she gets inspired by a set of words then starts thinking about them, whether they are hot or cold, intense or calm and peaceful.

For the piece “Insomnia,” which will be included in the show, she said she thought about the darker side of the mind. “There’s a lot of unrest about it—tossing and turning through a dreamlike state,” said Wever.

In another landscape piece called “Silence,” mountains and mist lend a mysterious mood. “It is all about communing with God, communing with nature,” she said.

Wever’s artwork is found in private and public collections in the U.S. She has shown her work in many galleries, including the Hunter-Wolff Gallery in Colorado Springs, Michael’s on Main in Canon City, Gallery 150 in Salida, Trembling Aspen Gallery, Buena Vista, the Painted Horse Gallery and more. 

The local show will feature about nine abstract works and four or five of the more representational landscapes.

Wever’s background in science has informed at least one part of her artistic process: choosing fabrics. “It helped me with the archival nature of art,” she said, since she knows about the chemistry of fabrics, it helps with choosing the right one for a particular job.